It has been 11 days since I adopted my ragdoll. She came with the name “Candy” but since I have only had a momentary glimpse of her since her arrival, from now on I call her STEALTH CAT!

It all began when in my year long search for a purebred Ragdoll, that I finally came upon the following advertisement in Craigslist:

Male blue bicolor kitten, born August 9, 2017 (22 weeks) is neutered, up to date with all shots including rabies, CFA registered, and is microchipped. Is very loving and litter box trained. Need to rehome due starting a regional job which takes me away from home. There is a rehoming fee, will give his cat tree. Only serious inquiries please text me at show contact info

Attached are 4 pictures of said cat in question.

I was elated! I already had a year old half ragdoll at home who is a companion pet for my little Teddy Roosevelt Terrier. Clover. His name is Greyson and they get along like two peas in a pod! So I just HAD to have a ragdoll for myself. This seemed like purrfection. He was a little younger than Greyson and hopefully Clover, Greyson and this new addition would get along swimmingly. So I texted as per the request in the ad.

He wanted $700.00 for the kitten, which with all the shots and microchipping was reasonable, but I just wasn’t in the position to make that kind of investment at the time. He told me he “already had a pending offer at full price.” I thanked him for his time and said, “to please let me know if the sale does not go through.”

A week goes by and suddenly I am texted by this gentleman who owned the kitten and was told the sale did not take place and he was offering me the kitten for $475.00. Again, I just didn’t have that amount available, but I could scrape together $300.00? He agrees to my price, which I found absolutely amazing! I agreed to meet him at his home at 9am Sunday, which was a 3 hour drive south from my home. But hey, this is a great deal and more importantly, I get the cat of my dreams!

I drive to the house which is located in a VERY EXCLUSIVE gated community with my cat carrier, ready to pick up my kitten! The gentleman opens the door and there are 3 very ROWDY children under 7 years of age. The man now tells me the reason for rehoming the kitten is because it doesn’t get along with the new dog. During earlier conversations he had told me that the kitten got along great with their dachshund! Now the wheels are beginning to turn, his stories are inconsistent and my New York suspicions haven’t left me after living almost 20 years in the South.

He tells me the kitten is under the couch and he and the kids will retrieve it for me. No wonder this kitten is terrified with 4 people trying to grab it from under the couch! It’s at that point the wife informs me that the cat is SPAYED. Now I look quizzically at them and ask, “Spayed? I thought it was a male?” At that point the woman looks at her husband and he quickly says, “I got the terminology mixed up. I meant to say, “Spayed.”

I am asked to follow the wife into the kitchen where she gives me some of “her” food and “her litter box”. I am not given the cat tree as advertised. The wife and I exchange pleasantries and I tell her about Greyson and I am so looking forward to have this kitten.

It is then and at that time the gentleman brings in what I expect to be a kitten looking exactly like the pictures in the advertisement.

What he brings in is a 2.5 year old FEMALE LILAC LYNX RAGDOLL (SEE PICTURE ABOVE ~ NOT CAT I ADOPTED)

I must say, I was a little stunned to say the least! I have done a LOT of studying about Ragdolls and I CAN tell the difference between a Blue Bicolor and a Lilac Lynx!

It’s at this point the wife tells me they bought THIS cat 2.5 years ago and paid $700.00 for it and it has all it’s shots and is DECLAWED! It’s at that point I see their dog, not a little dachshund but an AKITA! No wonder the cat doesn’t get along with the dog. I’d be terrified too, if I had no claws and had to live with a Japanese fighting dog!

My mind is moving very fast. I can either walk out the door because this man is deceiving me or at least trying to. Or I can take this cat that they are offering for $300.00 and take this poor baby out of a bad situation. Must be hard to have lived with 3 rowdy children and an Akita! No wonder she was hiding under the couch!

I ask the wife, if she has her “paperwork” on the cat and she gets me a file with all the information for a Lilac Lynx, including the Bill of Sale from the breeder, the shot, spaying and declawing records from the vet and her original Vet Health Certificate that was presented when they originally bought the cat as a kitten.

Of course, being who I am, I took the cat home. She is truly beautiful and I have a 2.5 year old Lilac Lynx instead of a bicolor! WHAT A WONDERFUL SURPRISE, I decide.

I leave with the cat, in the cat carrier and off I go~upon inspecting the paperwork, I decide to call the breeder and let her know I have one of her cats. She informs me that the cat is TICA registered and not CFA registered. She also informs me that the wife had called HER earlier in the week and said they would be returning the cat to the breeder. The breeder had already found this cat a home, and the person was driving up north to adopt the very cat that was in my possession THAT VERY DAY!

Talk about a head shaker!!!!!

After three hours of driving, I arrive home and let the cat meet the other housemates. She is unimpressed by them and they are equally unimpressed with this beautiful creature with the impressive pedigree. So, I decide to let her out of the carrier, since everyone seems okay with each other.

She ran upstairs and made herself comfortable in Clover’s hiding place under my bed. I go up there and bring her food and water and there is already a litter box set up in the bathroom, right off the bedroom. She will be fine, I convince myself and go about my life as usual.

The next day, STEALTH CAT is not hiding under the bed, but under the armoire! I put fresh food and water under the armoire and leave her be. She will come out when she is ready.

The next day, STEALTH CAT is back under the bed. So, I once again, leave her fresh food and water. I notice she has USED the litterbox so all is well! Hooray. She’s eating, drinking and pooping. What a great sign!

The next day when I go to feed STEALTH CAT, I find her under the bed, in Clover’s (the Teddy Roosevelt terrier) hiding place CUDDLED UP TO CLOVER! Greyson is back there too!

I, as a stupid human, immediately think Clover and Greyson are bothering her and call them out from under the bed. At that point, with my head on the floor coaxing Clover and Greyson to come to me….Clover belly crawls over and licks my face. Okay, so Clover’s telling me she’s got this covered, I should go away and leave them to their new friend.

The next day when I wake up, I start my day. And that’s when I see little tufts of light colored fur on the stairs going down and follow the tufts into the dining room where there is dry food which is free fed, water flowing from a fountain and two electric litter boxes.

Everyday since then, each day I find new little tufts of hair all over the house. That’s my only clue that STEALTH CAT EXISTS!

It’s been 11 days and I’ve only caught a glimpse of her when she ran out from under the bed while I was changing the sheets. And this is how I finally got my ragdoll. Does anyone have any name suggestions? Other than STEALTH CAT, of course.

Photo from http://www.ragdolls.cz/en/about-breed-colors.html

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Comments (9)

what a gorgeous girl and what a horrible story. some people are such A holes!! bless you for saving her from a life of morons!! to me cats should never live with young kids unless those kids are thoroughly trained!! and people that declaw should be in prison! she looks like a “Princess Livy.. and your last name” she looks like a princess and 11 days sin’t that long. she will settle in and she will be happy where she has love and peace. she is probably still wondering when the other shoe is going to drop and she has to relearn to trust. she is really lovely. thanks for sharing your and her story.

We got 2 of our 3 Ragdolls from Craigslist. After getting our first cat Max from a breeder, we were in love but we knew that if we had to pay a breeders prices we would only have 1. When Max was a year old we found “B” on Craigslist in Iowa City 4 hours away. They only wanted $10 for him even though he was a purebred Seal Point. He had not been neutered because their original intent was to breed him. We brought him home and for the first 6 weeks I regretted it. Even though we kept him and Max apart he was VERY skittish, he hid all of the time and sprayed everywhere. The way he reacted to us I was sure that he had been abused.
I took him to the Vet for shots and made an appointment to have him neutered. It was about 6 weeks before he started coming out of hiding, then we really had to work to gain his trust. Slowly but surely he started to change. Now, he can’t be in any other room other than the one we are in. He is at our side if we are doing anything. He is the most loving cat out of our 3. He loves cuddles and has the loudest purr. Our second Craigslist Ragdoll came to us a year after B, she is a female named Macy. We got her for $100 because the family was moving to a new home and didn’t want to take her with them. She was also introduced very slowly to the other 2 household cats. She didn’t like anyone at all and preferred to live under the bed. After 2 full months of never seeing her, I moved her out of the bedroom and shut the door. She slowly learned that she can be out among the family and other cats. She has been with us almost 2 years and she still prefers to be solitary. She stays in the bedroom, though she now prefers to be on the bed as opposed to under it. She comes out to use the litter box and to eat or drink, and she will come out at our regular snack and play (wand toy) time then she goes back to the bedroom. We have accepted that as her personality.
I say that it is most important to be patient. Give her time and lots of love, offer treats and gentle play. She will eventually come to trust you and love the peaceful life of your home. A few months of hiding / gentle interaction is worth it when you finally gain their trust and love.

I bought an F3 Savannah from a breeder. I drove 4 hours for her. He had reduced the price on her because she was the last in a litter and was already 6 months old. It was the best price I had seen on an F3. I had researched and followed this breeder for some time though before buying and we met in a public place. When I brought her home she was terrified. No one could even get close to her without her running away. She spent almost 2 weeks hiding in the basement (we have a cat door on the basement door for our other cats to get to the litter boxes) She’d find these cubbies and hiding places I didn’t even know existed. It took her almost 2 weeks to get brave enough to come upstairs and walk around. One thing that helped was the kids playing with her with her new toys. After about a month she started sleeping in bed with my husband and I and has done so almost every night since. We’ve now had her for almost 4 months

Wow…what a story. Bless your heart and hers too! I would certainly change her name to something that will never remind her of her old life. What torture they put that poor cat through. I’m so glad she is bonding with your other pets and so soon. Once she gets used to your routine and adjusts to all the sounds and smells, I’m sure she will venture out while you are present. Brushing is good for bonding with a cat. I wish you and her all the best! You asked for name suggestions……Lilly…..Lavender….Lilac….Orchid……Violet….Petunia….Iris…

I adopted a 2 year old male from a breeder with the same behavior as Stealth. It took over 3 weeks for him to come out from under the bed during daylight. He did come out during the night, he ate, drank and used the litterbox. Just be patient, she will come out on her own time. Stealth is gorgeous. Thank you for taking her out of that sorry situation.

OMG!!! WHAT a story!! What an ordeal your poor GORGEOUS Stealth Cat (Stella, anyone?) has been through!!! AND they DECLAWED HER?!?!? Oh my goodness, indeed!!! Those folks had no business adopting a gentle Ragdoll kitty AT ALL!!! God bless you for seeing your agreed upon adoption purchase through and bringing that poor little mite home to your loving home with your two lovely pets, Greyson & Clover. 🙂 <3

I guess with all the trauma that Stella (that is what I'm calling her in my mind) has been through she just isn't ready to trust any human right now. But the fact that she is out and about when you aren't there is a very promising sign in addition to the fact that she appears to be bonding with Greyson and Clover and eating and using her litter boxes!!! 🙂 <3

I know how hard it must be to wait for her to come find you and start a relationship with you. Perhap you can hang out in whatever room she is in and sing softly along with some of your favorite soothing & relaxing songs or read a book aloud in a soft, reassuring voice so she gets used to your company and the sound of your voice. Just a thought. 🙂 <3

I don't know much about the new cat hiding behavior but I do know that she has been through A LOT and isn't ready to trust yet. But, I know in my heart she will eventually venture out to socialize with you. I will pray very hard that happens sooner than later. I am eager to see what everyone else thinks about this situation and what awesome advice they have to offer.

Good luck and please keep us posted on what happens with your Stealthy Kitty Girl!!! 🙂

Wishing all of you the best bonding experience ever and many years of good health, love, happiness and purry & barky adventures together!!! 🙂

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About Jenny Dean

Hi, I’m Jenny Dean, creator of Floppycats! Ever since my Aunt got the first Ragdoll cat in our family, I have loved the breed. Inspired by my childhood Ragdoll cat, Rags (pictured with me), I created Floppycats to connect, share and inspire other (Ragdoll) cat lovers around the world, hoping we all utilize this community to make a better life for our cats and for us with our cats and to make some great friendships along the way as well.

If you have a new Ragdoll kitten, I’d love for you to share them with us as Ragdoll Kitten of the Month. If you have a Ragdoll cat, I’d love for you to share them with us as Ragdoll of the Week. Thanks for stopping by!

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